Enhancing Police and Crime Panel Accountability | Best Practice Hub Info Session

Police and Crime Panel Best Practice Hub Information Session Monday 20 May 2024

Police and Crime Panel Best Practice Hub Agenda - Introductions - Overview of the session - Background to the Police and Crime Panel Best Practice Hub - Purpose of the Police and Crime Panel Best Practice Hub - Overview of the bidding process - Q&A 1

Overview of the session Please stay on mute throughout the presentation. Please note that the session will be recorded. Participation in the session, and any information provided, will not be used for evaluation purposes in the future grant scheme tendering process. All questions and answers will be captured and will be made available to all interested bidders. 2

Introductions Home Office Police Strategy and Reform Unit James Bennett-Clark Head of PCC Policy, Scrutiny and Accountability Ben Cullimore Senior Policy Advisor: Scrutiny Policy Cabinet Office / Government Grants Managed Service Jack Farrar Cabinet Office Fiona Findlay Cabinet Office 3

Background to the Police and Crime Panel Best Practice Hub In 2019, the Government s manifesto included a commitment to strengthening the accountability of PCCs. To meet this commitment, a two-part PCC Review was launched. Through Part Two of the PCC Review, we made a commitment to undertaking an assessment of how Police and Crime Panels are supported by local authorities, to improve the quality, consistency and professionalism of PCC scrutiny, and enable greater transparency to the public. To help achieve this, we are introducing the Best Practice Hub, which will connect the practices of the 41 Panels in England and Wales and reduce inconsistency of practice in a way that respects local autonomy. 4

Purpose of the Police and Crime Panel Best Practice Hub What will the Hub offer? The Hub will focus on providing the Panel support network with a community of best practice, offering expert advice, guidance and tools, and additional professionalism and expertise for the sector. Support and advice provided by the Hub will cover: Onboarding Learning and development Scrutiny Statutory duties and processes Knowledge management Crime, fire and policing issues Continuous improvement 5

Purpose of the Police and Crime Panel Best Practice Hub How will the Hub work? The Hub will be hosted by a local authority in England and Wales and will consist of full-time support roles. The host local authority will have control over what these roles look like, but we expect them to cover the following areas: Hub Manager / Scrutiny Advisor Onboarding and Development Lead Practice Coordinator It will be at the discretion of the host local authority where the roles are physically located for example, either in an office, remote or a combination of the two. Hub officers will be available via phone and email for queries related to specific function areas, such as scrutiny and statutory duties and processes. Alongside these roles, an online Knowledge Management Platform will be established and maintained by the Hub. This will be used for document sharing, networking, asking ad-hoc queries, etc., ensuring that tools and resources can be accessed by the Panel support network whenever they are required. 6

Purpose of the Police and Crime Panel Best Practice Hub We would expect the Hub roles to focus primarily on the following: Hub Manager / Scrutiny Advisor Expert advice, peer support and good practice around effective scrutiny, and statutory duties and processes Managing the Hub Ensuring effective delivery of the annual KPIs Onboarding and Development Lead Sourcing and developing good practice related to Panel member onboarding Peer support guidance (as it relates to Panel member onboarding and development) Supporting onboarding for Panel support officers Practice Coordinator Collecting and managing existing Panel support practice material Developing good practice Panel support templates Sourcing and sharing national crime/policing/fire issues and trends Encouraging collaboration across the Panel support network 7

Purpose of the Police and Crime Panel Best Practice Hub How will the Hub be funded? The grant will provide funds to a local authority in England and Wales to act as the host local authority for the Best Practice Hub and help it achieve its outcomes. Initial two-year grant, with the expected annual cost of the Hub estimated to be 180k, inclusive of on costs (National Insurance contributions, pensions, etc.). The Hub will be funded directly by the Home Office and separately to the core Police and Crime Panel grant. The Best Practice Hub grant funding will be paid in arrears. 8

Purpose of the Police and Crime Panel Best Practice Hub How will the Hub host local authority work with the Home Office? The Hub will not be responsible for enforcing or mandating ways of working to Panels, directly delivering any aspects of the work of Panels, or arbitrating disputes or differing interpretations of legislation. Host Local Authority Home Office Responsible for: Responsible for: Supporting the initial establishment of the Hub Review and agreeing annual strategy and KPIs with the Hub Administering the grant Regular guidance and support for the Hub Reviewing and managing risks associated with the Hub Evaluating the performance of the Hub Recruitment of the Hub roles Employee contracts and details Technology enablement Ensuring the Hub delivers against its KPIs Escalating to the Home Office if challenges arise It will instead concentrate on providing support and expert advice to Panels on good practice, as well as providing tools and templates to help Panels to effectively undertake their scrutiny functions. 9

Purpose of the Police and Crime Panel Best Practice Hub How will the Best Practice Hub be implemented? The Hub and the Home Office will have both a formal monitoring and evaluation relationship as well as an informal support relationship. Formal monitoring and evaluation Informal support The Home Office will establish a regular working relationship with the Hub The Home Office will administer the grant for the Hub, which will review and agree the annual strategy and KPIs for the Hub to deliver against The informal support provided by the Home Office will include: An annual Home Office-led kick-off meeting will be held to ensure Hub officers understand their roles and responsibilities Hub officers will be able to access this support through a Hub Manager, who will have a direct relationship with the Home Office. Answering questions Providing guidance on unknowns/escalations Providing updates and ministerial priorities Being a thought partner Annual strategy and KPIs will be reviewed and agreed by the Hub and Home Office, and the Hub Manager will manage Hub activities to deliver against these KPIs. Regular meetings and check-ins between the Hub manager/host local authority and Home Office The Hub will report progress against the KPIs to the Home Office biannually. This will be aligned to the existing Panel support grant monitoring/claim process 10

Overview of the bidding process Bidders are only permitted from those local authorities in England and Wales that act as the host local authority for their local Police and Crime Panels. All individual local authorities can submit only one bid. Local authorities interested in bidding to host the Best Practice Hub will need to complete an online application via Find & Apply for a Grant. Closing date is 11th June 2024. Bids will be evaluated and scored by the Home Office. Further information on the bidding process, including the assessment and scoring of bids, can be found in the Instructions to Bidders document. 11

Overview of the bidding process Implementation timeline Milestone Start Date End Date The host local authority for the Best Practice Hub will be announced in early August 2024. Call for Proposal (CfP) via Find & Apply for a Grant 21/05/2024 11/06/2024 21/05/2024 28/05/2024 Clarification period 11/06/2024 Bid submission deadline Compliance Checks 05/06/2024 13/06/2024 Recruitment for the support officer roles will begin once this has taken place. Individual Preliminary Evaluation of Bids 12/06/2024 20/06/2024 27/06/2024 Moderation of Bidders 28/06/2024 to 01/08/2024 Governance Grant Agreement released to successful Bidder (for signature) 02/08/2024 12

Overview of the bidding process The competition will be advertised on Find & Apply for a Grant: https://find- government-grants.service.gov.uk/grants/police-and-crime-panel-best-practice- hub-1 It is important that applicants read the Instructions to Bidders document before commencing to complete the questionnaire. For guidance on how to navigate the Find a Grant service, please see the guidance video below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTtb8G_B3FE Clarification questions can be asked during the competition period, up to 28 May 2024, via email to ggms_bestpractice@cabinetoffice.gov.uk. Do not send any emails/correspondence to anyone within the Home Office this email is your only communication route. Applications, and any supporting documents, must be completed and submitted by midday (12pm) on 11 June 2024. 13

Police and Crime Panel Best Practice Hub Any questions? Further questions contact: Email: ggms_bestpractice@cabinetoffice.gov.uk Important Dates: Clarification questions closing date: 28 May 2024 Application closing date: 11 June 2024 Notification of competition results: Late July 2024 Grant Agreement signed: Early August 2024 Grant Commencement: Early August 2024 Please note that the Authority reserves the right to make changes to these dates. 14